Commercialists

/kəˈmɜːrʃəlɪsts/ noun

Definition

People who are mainly interested in making money and profit rather than artistic or cultural values.

Etymology

From commercial (from Latin commercium, 'trade') + -ist (one who practices or advocates). The suffix -ist became common in English around the 15th century to denote practitioners of particular ideologies or professions.

Kelly Says

Commercialists were heavily critiqued during the Romantic era when artists and writers championed 'art for art's sake' — a direct reaction against the rising merchant class that valued profit over pure creative expression.

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